Idris Muhammad
Idris Muhammad (born Leo Morris on 13 November 1939 in New Orleans, Louisiana; ) is an American jazz drummer who has recorded extensively with a host of artists including Ahmad Jamal, Grant Green, Grover Washington, Hank Crawford, Gene Ammons, and Houston Person. He changed his name in the 1960s upon his conversion to Islam. He is known for his funky playing style. He has released a number of albums as leader, and has played with a number of jazz legends including Lou Donaldson, Johnny Griffin, Pharoah Sanders and Grover Washington, Jr. He has been touring and recording with pianist Ahmad Jamal since 1995. At 16 years old, one of Muhammad's earliest recorded sessions as a drummer was on Fats Domino's 1956 hit "Blueberry Hill". In 1966, he married Dolores "LaLa" Brooks (former member of the Crystals; she converted to Islam with him and went for a time under the name Sakinah Muhammad). They separated in 1999. Together, they have two sons and two daughters. Muhammad is an endorser of Istanbul Agop Cymbals. In 2012 Xlibris released the book, "Inside The Music, The Life of Idris Muhammad" which he wrote with his friend Britt Alexander. The book has been enthusiastically received by the music community and musicians hailed it as a great look into his legend. Select discography As leader * 1970: Black Rhythm Revolution (Prestige) * 1971: Peace & Rhythm (Prestige) * 1974: Power of Soul * 1976: House of the Rising Sun (Kudu) * 1977: Turn This Mutha Out (Kudu) * 1977: Could Heaven Ever Be Like This * 1978: Boogie to the Top * 1978: You Ain't No Friend of Mine * 1979: Fox Huntin' * 1980: Kabsha (Theresa Records) * 1980: Make It Count * 1992: My Turn * 1998: Right Now As sideman With Nat Adderley * 1968: Calling Out Loud (CTI) With Gene Ammons * 1970: The Black Cat! (Prestige) * 1971: You Talk That Talk! (Prestige) * 1971: My Way (Prestige) * 1972: Got My Own (Prestige) * 1972: Big Bad Jug (Prestige) With George Benson * 1969: Tell It Like It Is (A&M/CTI) With Rusty Bryant *''Soul Liberation'' (Prestige, 1970) *''Fire Eater'' (Prestige, 1971) *''Wild Fire'' (Prestige, 1971) With Paul Desmond * 1968: Summertime (A&M/CTI) With Lou Donaldson * 1965: Fried Buzzard (Cadet) * 1966: Blowing in the Wind (Cadet) * 1966: Lou Donaldson At His Best (Cadet) * 1967: Alligator Bogaloo (Blue Note) * 1967: Mr. Shing-A-Ling (Blue Note) * 1968: Midnight Creeper (Blue Note) * 1968: Say It Loud! (Blue Note) * 1969: Hot Dog (Blue Note) * 1970: Everything I Play is Funky (Blue Note) * 1970: Pretty Things (Blue Note) * 1970: The Scorpion (Blue Note) * 1971: Cosmos (Blue Note) * 1981: Sweet Poppa Lou (Muse) With Charles Earland *''Black Talk!'' (Prestige, 1969) With Grant Green * 1969: Carryin' On (Blue Note) * 1970: Green Is Beautiful (Blue Note) * 1970: Alive! (Blue Note) With Benjamin Herman * 1999: Get In With Andrew Hill * 1968: Grass Roots With Freddie Hubbard * 2001: New Colors (Hip Bop Essence) With Bobbi Humphrey * 1971: Flute In (Blue Note) With Ahmad Jamal * 1995: The Essence Part One (Birdology) * 1995: Big Byrd: The Essence Part 2 (Birdology) * 1997: Nature: The Essence Part Three (Birdology) * 2000: Picture Perfect (Birdology) * 2000: Ahmad Jamal 70th Birthday * 2002: In Search of Momentum (Dreyfus) * 2005: After Fajr (Dreyfus) *''It's Magic'' (Dreyfus, 2008) With J. J. Johnson and Kai Winding * 1969: Betwixt & Between (A&M/CTI) With Rodney Jones * 1991: Soul Manifesto With Keystone Trio * 1996: Heart Beats[http://www.allmusic.com/album/heart-beats-mw0000183681 Allmusic Heart Beats review] * 1997: Newklear Music: The Songs of Sonny Rollins[http://www.allmusic.com/album/newklear-music-mw0000019950 Allmusic Newklear Music review] With Charles Kynard *''Wa-Tu-Wa-Zui (Beautiful People)'' (Prestige, 1970) With Joe Lovano * 1998: Friendly Fire (Blue Note) * 2000: Flights of Fancy: Trio Fascination Edition Two (Blue Note) With Harold Mabern *''Workin' & Wailin''' (Prestige, 1969) *''Greasy Kid Stuff!'' (Prestige, 1970) With Houston Person *''Person to Person!'' (Prestige, 1970) With Ernest Ranglin * 1998: Below the Bassline (Island Records) With Pharaoh Sanders * 1969: Jewels Of Thought (Impulse!) * 1980: Journey to the One (Theresa) * 1982: Heart is a Melody (Theresa) * 1982: Live (Theresa) * 1985: Shukuru (Theresa) * 1987: Africa (Timeless) With John Scofield * 1995: Groove Elation (Blue Note) With Shirley Scott * 1972: Lean on Me (Cadet) With Lonnie Smith * 1969: Turning Point With Melvin Sparks *''Sparks!'' (Prestige, 1970) *''Spark Plug'' (Prestige, 1971) *''Akilah!'' (Prestige, 1972) With Leon Spencer * 1970: Sneak Preview (Prestige Records) * 1971: Louisiana Slim (Prestige) With Sonny Stitt * 1971: Turn It On! (Prestige) * 1971: Black Vibrations (Prestige) * 1972: Goin' Down Slow (Prestige) With Gábor Szabó * 1975: Macho (Salvation) With Randy Weston * 1989: Portraits of Duke Ellington (Verve) * 1989: Portraits of Thelonious Monk (Verve) * 1989: Self Portraits (Verve) * 1991: Spirits of Our Ancestors (Verve) With Reuben Wilson * 1969: Love Bug (Blue Note) With Kamal Abdul-Alim * 1983: Dance (Stash) References External links * Interview in Allaboutjazz * Artist and album page of Lipstick Records Category:Drummers